#ThrowbackThursday. These is my Words

 

Turner, Nancy E. "These is my Words, The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901" - 1999

The story is based on the life of the author's grandmother, a courageous and clever woman, who taught herself to read as a teenager and was a pretty independent woman. It's a love story as well as a tale of the struggle people, especially women, went through in the early beginnings of the settlings in America.

I have read this book several times, once with my first book club ever, in England, once with my international book club who voted it best book of the year.

Read more on my original post here. 

Turner, Nancy E. "The Star Garden"

Turner, Nancy E. "The Star Garden: A Novel of Sarah Agnes Prine" - 2007

The third book in a trilogy. I loved "These is my words" so had to read the sequel "Sarah's Quilt" and this one. The story about the author's pioneer grandmother. In the first part,

In "These is My Words", we meet Sarah Agnes Prine who teaches herself to read, "Sarah's Quilt" we heard about Sarah Agnes Prine dealing with life as a widow and mother of young children.

This story is just as coloruful, the characters come alive just as well, the scenes are just as exciting as in the first two books ... you should definitely read them in order, though.

I would have only one tiny little complaint. I don't live in the USA and so I had to chase down this third book in the trilogy and it took me quite a while. So, I didn't remember every single family member and who belonged to whom etc. I would have liked a little reminder of who is who in the family. A family tree, a list, or something like that. Or at least on the author's website.

But other than that, the book was great. The protagonist surely led an adventurous life. And her Great-Granddaughter Nancy E. Turner did a good job describing her life.

From the back cover:
"From the bestselling author of These Is My Words comes this exhilarating follow-up to the beloved Sarah's Quilt. In the latest diary entries of pioneer woman Sarah Agnes Prine, Nancy E. Turner continues Sarah's extraordinary story as she struggles to make a home in the Arizona Territory.
It is winter 1906, and nearing bankruptcy after surviving drought, storms, and the rustling of her cattle, Sarah remains a stalwart pillar to her extended family. Then a stagecoach accident puts in her path three strangers who will change her life.
In sickness and in health, neighbor Udell Hanna remains a trusted friend, pressing for Sarah to marry. When he reveals a plan to grant Sarah her dearest wish, she is overwhelmed with passion and excitement. She soon discovers, however, that there is more to a formal education than she bargained for.
Behind the scenes, Sarah's old friend Maldonado has struck a deal with the very men who will become linchpins of the Mexican Revolution. Maldonado plots to coerce Sarah into partnership, but when she refuses, he devises a murderous plan to gain her land for building a railroad straight to Mexico. When Sarah's son Charlie unexpectedly returns from town with a new bride, the plot turns into an all-out range war between the two families.
Finally putting an end to Udell's constant kindnesses, Sarah describes herself as 'an iron-boned woman'. She wants more than to be merely a comfortable fill-in for his dead wife. It is only through a chance encounter that she discovers his true feelings, and only then can she believe that a selfless love has at last reached out to her. . . ."

Find Nancy E. Turner's website here.

Turner, Nancy E. "The Water and the Blood"

Turner, Nancy E. "The Water and the Blood" - 2001

After reading "These is my Words , The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901", I just had to read Nancy E. Turner's next novel.

I loved it just as much as the first book of this interesting author. She writes vivid stories with a lot of heart and emotion, I'm looking forward to more of her work.

This book is about a young girl growing up in Texas during World War II, a white society, a religious society, a KKK society. A girl who observes everything well and has to come to terms with racism. A novel about poverty, religion and bigotry, growing up, even murder.

From the back cover:
"Rare is the gift of a writer who is able to conjure up the voices of very different worlds, to give them heat and power and make them sing. Such is the talent of Nancy E. Turner. Her beloved first novel, These Is My Words, opened readers to the challenges of a woman's life in the nineteenth-century Southwest. Now this extraordinary writer shifts her gaze to a very different world -- East Texas in the years of the Second World War -- and to the life of a young woman named Philadelphia Summers, known against her will as Frosty.

From the novel's harrowing opening scene, Frosty's eyes survey the landscape around her -- white rural America -- with the awestruck clarity of an innocent burned by sin. In her mother and sisters she sees fear and small-mindedness; in the eyes of local boys she sees racial hatred and hunger for war. When that war finally comes, it offers her a chance for escape -to California, and the caring arms of Gordon Benally a Native-American soldier. But when she returns to Texas she must face the rejection of a town still gripped by suspicion -- and confront the memory of the crime that has marked her soul since adolescence.

Propelled by the quiet power of one woman's voice, The Water and the Blood is a moving and unforgettable portrait of an America of haunted women and dangerous fools -- an America at once long perished and with us still."

Nancy has continued the account of her grandmother's life with "Sarah's Quilt. A Novel of Sarah Agnes Prine and the Arizona Territories, 1906" and "The Star Garden". 

Turner, Nancy E. "Sarah's Quilt"

Turner, Nancy E. "Sarah's Quilt. A Novel of Sarah Agnes Prine and the Arizona Territories, 1906" - 2006

The second part of the trilogy that started with "These is my Words", the continuation of the life of Sarah Agnes Prine after the death of her beloved husband. Life has to go on for the widow and her children and Nancy Turner describes the events in her courageous grandmother's life as well as in her first book.

If you liked "These is my Words", you should carry on reading this one.

Nancy has continued the account of her grandmother's life with "The Star Garden". If you like her books, you might want to try "The Water and the Blood", as well.

From the back cover:

"In These Is My Words, Sarah Agnes Prine told the spellbinding story of an extraordinary pioneer woman and her struggle to make a home in the Arizona Territories. Now, in this mesmerizing sequel, a three-year drought has made Sarah desperate for water. And just when it seems that life couldn't get worse, she learns that her brother and his family are trapped in the Great San Francisco Earthquake. A heartwarming blend of stubbornness and compassion, Sarah Agnes Prine will once again capture the hearts of readers everywhere. "

Turner, Nancy E. "These is my Words"

Turner, Nancy E. "These is my Words, The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901" - 1999

The story is based on the life of the author's grandmother, a courageous and clever woman, who taught herself to read as a teenager and was a pretty independent woman. Her story is told in the style of a diary, starting when she is 17 in 1881. It's a love story as well as a tale of the struggle people, especially women, went through in the early beginnings of the settlings in America. There are so many different stories in this book, it could have been a whole series. It's a historical novel about life on the American frontier with a lot of detail.

This story is told with a lot of heart, the characters come alive, the history is very vivid. A wonderful book.

I have read this book several times, once with my first book club ever, in England, once with my international book club who voted it best book of the year.

We discussed this in our British Book Club in October 1999 and in our international book club in October 2003.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2021.

From the back cover:

"A moving, exciting, and heartfelt American saga inspired by the author's own family memoirs, these words belong to Sarah Prine, a woman of spirit and fire who forges a full and remarkable existence in a harsh, unfamiliar frontier. Scrupulously recording her steps down the path Providence has set her upon - from child to determined young adult to loving mother - she shares the turbulent events, both joyous and tragic, that molded her and recalls the enduring love with cavalry officer Captain Jack Elliot that gave her strength and purpose.

Rich in authentic everyday details and alive with truly unforgettable characters, These Is My Words brilliantly brings a vanished world to breathtaking life again."

Nancy has continued the account of her grandmoter's life with "Sarah's Quilt. A Novel of Sarah Agnes Prine and the Arizona Territories, 1906" and "The Star Garden".

If you like her books, you might want to try "The Water and the Blood", as well.